The News

Decatur Band and Booster News

Check out what’s going on with the Decatur Bands and the Band Boosters in the newsletter links below.

!! New Band Director at Decatur !!

It’s going to be hard to replace Mr. Sadowski. But after interviewing many well qualified candidates, we unanimously agreed that one stood out as the best fit for the band programs at Decatur. So I am more than happy to announce that Mr. Jeff Chang has accepted the position and will be Director of Bands at Decatur next year.

Mr. Chang comes to us from White Swan High School in the Mount Adams district near Yakima where he built the band program from less than 20 to well over 100 students. He has an impressive background that includes a strong musical education. He’s also a giging musician and has a CD out with nine original compositions. But who better to tell you about Jeff Chang than the man himself. Here’s a message from Jeff…

“A little about myself, I grew up in Taipei, Taiwan. I picked up the saxophone when I was 14 and fell in love with it ever since. I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when I was a junior in high school. I have my Bachelor’s of Art in saxophone performance from Cal State Hayward, my Master’s of Music in Jazz Saxophone Performance from New England Conservatory in Boston and I did my Music Education Certification program at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. I am an active performer in the great northwest, and if you are interested, you can hear my debut album “It’s Not What You Think” on iTunes. I am married to Dr. Li-Ling Liao, an amazing violinist. Our son, Alec recently joined us in June, and our cat, Ella (as in Ella Fitzgerald) will turn 2 in November.

I am very excited to be offered the director of bands position at Decatur High School. After a brief visit to Decatur High School in June, I am more certain that Decatur is the ideal place for me. I am looking forward to meet all of you in person soon, it’s going to an exciting journey!

Sincerely,

Jeff Chang”

I am “way stoked” to work with Jeff next year. Decatur has always had an excellent band program and I think Mr. Chang is the right person to carry on that tradition and take us to the next level.